12 August 2007
Satcoms
Astrium and Thales Alenia
Space Win Yahsat Satellite Communications Contract
Gilat Selected by Kazakhstan's Largest Telecom
Operator for SkyEdge Broadband Satellite Network Expansion of Several Hundred
Sites
Iridium Announces First Development
Partners for 'NEXT'
Lockheed Martin-Built
BSAT-3a Satellite Ready for Launch
Mobile
Satellite Ventures and Sprint Now Offer Unique Satellite Communications
Solutions to Public Safety End-Users
Stratos Expands to Serve Key Oil & Gas Markets
in West Africa, Saudi Arabia and Latin America
Vocality International Supplies SIS Link with Their
100th Communications System
Navigation
Galileo to Support Global Search and
Rescue
Military Space
ATK Awarded US$ 2.8 Million
Contract With Sandia National Laboratories to Build Satellite Link Signal
Generator
Boeing TEAM TSAT Demonstrates
Technology Maturity
DataPath Wins US$
16.7 Million Contract for US Army National Guard Rapid Response
Program
Harris Corporation Adds General
Dynamics SATCOM Technologies to its Modernization of Enterprise Terminal
Program Team
New Framework Agreement
Signed with Vocality International
Northrop Grumman Delivers SBIRS GEO-1 Payload to
Lockheed Martin
Spacecom Partners with
DRS Technologies to Provide Satellite Bandwidth Services to US Department of
Defense
Astronomy
First Light for World's Largest 'Thermometer
Camera'
Stars
Two Telescopes Combine to Probe Young Family of
Stars
Galaxies
Astronomers Spot Brightest Galaxies in the Distant
Universe
NASA's Spitzer Spies Monster
Galaxy Pileup
Earth
AeroAstro-built STPSat-1 Spacecraft Positions for
Shuttle Plume
Mars
ATK Composite and Propulsion Technologies Help
Launch NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander
MDA'S
Information Solution En Route to Mars
NASA's Mars-Bound Phoenix Adjusts Course
Successfully
Optech is Bound for
Mars
Saturn
Possible Origin of Saturn's Mysterious G
Ring
Extra-Solar
Planets
Largest Transiting Extrasolar Planet Found Around A
Distant Star
Manned
Space
NASA Awards First Stage Contract for Ares
Rockets
NASA Develops Wireless Tile
Scanner For Space Shuttle Inspection
Pratt
& Whitney Rocketdyne Awarded NASA Contract Extension for Space Shuttle Main
Engine
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
Main Engines Add New Measure of Safety to Space Station-Bound Shuttle
Successful Jules Verne Rendezvous Simulation at ATV
Control Centre
Manned Space -
Shuttle Endeavour (STS-1118)
Endeavour Ready for Launch
NASA's Shuttle Endeavour Begins Mission to the
Space Station
Astronauts to Conduct Study
of Bacterial Growth in Space
Hamilton
Sundstrand Power Transfer Unit Enables Extended Shuttle Docking Time
STS-118 MCC Status Report #01
STS-118 MCC Status Report #02
STS-118 MCC Status Report #03
STS-118 MCC Status Report #04
STS-118 MCC Status Report #05
STS-118 MCC Status Report #06
STS-118 MCC Status Report
#07
Launch
Services
Aerojet Propulsion Launches NASA's Phoenix Mars
Lander Mission
Ariane 5 is Complete with
its Spaceway 3 and BSAT-3a Payloads
ILS
to Launch Inmarsat Satellite on Proton Vehicle Next Spring
Indigenous Cryogenic Stage Tested for Eight
Minutes
Japan's BSAT-3a is Installed on
its Ariane 5 Launch Vehicle
Lockheed
Martin Informs ICO of Six Week Launch Slot Postponement
Launches
ISS 13A.1 - Shuttle Endeavour (STS-118)
Launch
Schedule
Products and
Services
Mobile Satellite Ventures Unveils SMART - a
Satellite Mutual Aid Radio Talkgroup
Vocality Launches Satellite Network
Simulator
Events
APSCC 2007 Satellite Conference & Exhibition:
Exhibitors to Demonstrate State-of-the-Art Products and
Services
People
Com Dev Announces Return of CEO John
Keating
David J. Helfgott Elected to
DataPath's Board of Directors
ESA's
German Astronaut Thomas Reiter to Become Member of DLR Executive Board with
Responsibility for Space
GPS Industries
Attracts Joseph Miller to CFO Role
NASA
Administrator Announces Senior Leadership Appointments
Satcoms
Astrium and Thales
Alenia Space Win Yahsat Satellite Communications Contract
(8 August
2007) Al Yah Satellite Communications Company "Yahsat", a wholly owned
subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company, awarded a contract to a joint team
of Astrium and Thales Alenia Space to build their US$ 1.66 billion (AED 6
Billion) dual satellite communications system ready for a launch in the second
half of 2010.
Gilat Selected by
Kazakhstan's Largest Telecom Operator for SkyEdge Broadband Satellite Network
Expansion of Several Hundred Sites
(6 August 2007) Gilat Satellite
Networks Ltd. today announced it has been selected by its long-time customer
JSC Kazakhtelecom (KT) to provide several hundred additional SkyEdge VSATs for
KT's existing broadband satellite network.
Iridium Announces First Development Partners for
'NEXT'
(7 August 2007) Iridium Satellite has contracted with seven
key partners in the beginning phase of designing and developing its "Iridium
NEXT" satellite constellation.
Lockheed
Martin-Built BSAT-3a Satellite Ready for Launch
(10 August 2007) The
BSAT-3a broadcasting satellite, designed and built by Lockheed Martin for the
Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation (B-SAT) of Japan, is ready for its
scheduled launch on Aug. 14 aboard an Ariane 5-ECA launch vehicle provided by
Arianespace.
Mobile Satellite Ventures and
Sprint Now Offer Unique Satellite Communications Solutions to Public Safety
End-Users
(7 August 2007) Mobile Satellite Ventures LP (MSV) has
entered into a three-year strategic distribution alliance with the Sprint
Emergency Response Team (ERT) to offer continuous wireless connectivity for
public safety agencies in situations where the public switched telephone
network (PSTN) is congested or damaged, or where phone coverage is
non-existent.
Stratos Expands to Serve Key
Oil & Gas Markets in West Africa, Saudi Arabia and Latin
America
(6 August 2007) Stratos Global Corp. today announced three
strategic agreements that reinforce its status as one of the leading providers
of remote communications solutions to the world-wide offshore oil and gas
industry.
Vocality International Supplies
SIS Link with Their 100th Communications System
(10 August 2007)
Vocality International is pleased to announce that it has supplied SISLink with
its 100th system for delivering voice and data
communications.
Navigation
Galileo to Support Global Search
and Rescue
(9 August 2007) The detection of emergency beacons will
be greatly improved by the introduction of Europe's satellite positioning
system, Galileo.
Military
Space
ATK Awarded US$ 2.8 Million Contract With Sandia
National Laboratories to Build Satellite Link Signal Generator
(8
August 2007) Alliant Techsystems announced today that its Mission Research
& Technical Services (MRTS) business division has been awarded a US$ 2.8
million dollar contract by Sandia National Laboratories to build a unique
multi-channel test source for the U.S. Nuclear Detection System (NDS) program,
with disturbed channel capabilities.
Boeing TEAM TSAT Demonstrates Technology
Maturity
(9 August 2007) TEAM TSAT, led by The Boeing Company, has
demonstrated that its Transformational Satellite Communications System Space
Segment (TSAT) hardware and software can function in simulated operational
environments, achieving Technology Readiness Level-6 (TRL-6) for payload,
antenna, information assurance and gateway technologies.
DataPath Wins US$ 16.7 Million Contract for US Army
National Guard Rapid Response Program
(7 August 2007) DataPath,
Inc., a leading provider of satellite and wireless communications networks
around the world, has been awarded a US$ 16.7 million contract by the
Communications-Electronics Command in Fort Monmouth, N.J., to establish a
nation-wide Joint Incident Site Communications Capability (JISCC) for the U.S.
Army National Guard.
Harris Corporation
Adds General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies to its Modernization of Enterprise
Terminal Program Team
(9 August 2007) Harris Corporation, an
international communications and information technology company, has added
General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies to its team to compete for a potential
15-year, US$ 600 million U.S. Army Modernization of Enterprise Terminals (MET)
program to provide the next generation of global military satellite
communications terminals.
New Framework
Agreement Signed with Vocality International
(23 July 2007) Paradigm
employs 250 people and is the service provider for the Skynet 5 contract with
the UK Ministry of Defence, signed in October 2003, valued at
£3.6bn.
Northrop Grumman Delivers
SBIRS GEO-1 Payload to Lockheed Martin
(6 August 2007) Northrop
Grumman Corporation, the payload integrator for the Space Based Infrared System
(SBIRS), the nation's next-generation missile warning system, has delivered the
first SBIRS geosynchronous orbit (GEO) payload to prime contractor Lockheed
Martin for integration into the spacecraft and final system-level
testing.
Spacecom Partners with DRS
Technologies to Provide Satellite Bandwidth Services to US Department of
Defense
(6 August 2007) Space-Communication Ltd., operator of the
AMOS satellite fleet, announced today that it will provide DRS Technologies'
Technical Services Business Segment with Ku-band satellite transponder capacity
so that in turn, it can provide the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) with
satellite communications capabilities via the Defense Information Systems
Network's (DISN) Satellite Transmission Services-Global (DSTS-G) government
contract vehicle.
Astronomy
First Light for World's Largest 'Thermometer
Camera'
(5 August 2007) The world's largest bolometer camera for
submillimetre astronomy is now in service at the 12-m APEX telescope, located
on the 5100m high Chajnantor plateau in the Chilean Andes.
Stars
Two Telescopes Combine to Probe Young Family of
Stars
(8 August 2007) A spectacular new image from NASA's Spitzer
Space Telescope uncovers a small group of young stellar "siblings" in the
southern portion of the Serpens cloud - located approximately 848 light-years
away from Earth.
Galaxies
Astronomers Spot Brightest Galaxies in the Distant
Universe
(9 August 2007) By combining the capabilities of several
telescopes, astronomers have spotted extremely bright galaxies hiding in the
distant, young universe.
NASA's Spitzer
Spies Monster Galaxy Pileup
(6 August 2007) Four galaxies are
slamming into each other and kicking up billions of stars in one of the largest
cosmic smash-ups ever observed.
Earth
AeroAstro-built STPSat-1 Spacecraft Positions for
Shuttle Plume
(8 August 2007) AeroAstro today announced that
STPSat-1 payload, SHIMMER, has successfully gathered data from the June 8th
launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis.
Mars
ATK Composite and Propulsion Technologies Help
Launch NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander
(7 August 2007) Alliant
Techsystems composite and propulsion technologies supported the successful
launch of the Delta II rocket carrying NASA's Phoenix Mars lander
spacecraft.
MDA'S Information Solution En
Route to Mars
(6 August 2007) MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates
Ltd., a provider of essential information solutions, announced today that its
meteorological instrument package is now destined for Mars onboard the Phoenix
Lander.
NASA's Mars-Bound Phoenix Adjusts
Course Successfully
(10 August 2007) NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander
today accomplished the first and largest of six course corrections planned
during the spacecraft's flight from Earth to Mars.
Optech is Bound for Mars
(6 August 2007)
Optech lidar technology has been successfully launched toward Mars aboard
NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander.
Saturn
Possible Origin of Saturn's Mysterious G
Ring
(3 August 2007) With data from the Cassini spacecraft, an
international team of scientists may have identified the source of one of
Saturn's more mysterious rings.
Extra-Solar Planets
Largest Transiting Extrasolar
Planet Found Around A Distant Star
(6 August 2007) An international
team of astronomers with the Trans-atlantic Exoplanet Survey announce today the
discovery of TrES-4, a new extrasolar planet in the constellation of
Hercules.
Manned
Space
NASA Awards First Stage Contract for Ares
Rockets
(10 August 2007) NASA has signed a US$ 1.8 billion contract
with Alliant Techsystems, known as ATK, located near Brigham City, Utah, for
the design, development, testing, and evaluation of the first stage of the Ares
I and Ares V launch vehicles.
NASA
Develops Wireless Tile Scanner For Space Shuttle Inspection
(7
August 2007) A new space shuttle tile inspection method using NASA-built,
wireless scanners is replacing manual inspection.
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Awarded NASA Contract
Extension for Space Shuttle Main Engine
(6 August 2007) Pratt &
Whitney Rocketdyne, a United Technologies Corp. company, has signed a US$ 975
million contract extension with NASA to continue maintaining the space shuttle
main engines through 2010.
Pratt &
Whitney Rocketdyne Main Engines Add New Measure of Safety to Space
Station-Bound Shuttle
(8 August 2007) Three Pratt & Whitney
Rocketdyne Space Shuttle Main Engines, fitted with upgraded controllers to
actively monitor engine health and performance, powered the launch of the Space
Shuttle Endeavour from NASA's Kennedy Space Center today.
Successful Jules Verne Rendezvous Simulation at ATV
Control Centre
(3 August 2007) For the first time, three human
spaceflight mission control centres - located in three countries - have this
week successfully simulated the critical rendezvous of the Automated Transfer
Vehicle, the largest and most complex automatic spacecraft, with the
International Space Station.
Manned Space - Shuttle Endeavour (STS-1118)
Endeavour Ready for
Launch
(8 August 2007) The countdown continues at NASA's Kennedy
Space Center, Florida, for this evening's launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour on
mission STS-118 to the International Space Station.
NASA's Shuttle Endeavour Begins Mission to the
Space Station
(8 August 2007) The space shuttle Endeavour and its
seven-member crew lifted off at 6:36 p.m. EDT Wednesday from NASA's Kennedy
Space Center in Florida.
Astronauts to
Conduct Study of Bacterial Growth in Space
(9 August 2007) When
space shuttle Endeavour rocketed into space yesterday, it took along a common
micro-organism normally found in the upper respiratory tract of approximately
40 percent of the healthy human population.
Hamilton Sundstrand Power Transfer Unit Enables
Extended Shuttle Docking Time
(9 August 2007) Hamilton Sundstrand
Rocketdyne, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., has developed the Power
Transfer Unit converter system for NASA's Station-to- Shuttle Power Transfer
System that will be activated during the 11-day STS-118 mission, which launched
Wednesday evening, Aug 8.
STS-118 MCC
Status Report #01
(8 August 2007) The Space Shuttle Endeavour roared
into a summer Florida sky on time today at 5:36 p.m. CDT, carrying to the
International Space Station a crew of seven, among them
teacher-turned-astronaut Barbara Morgan.
STS-118 MCC Status Report #02
(9 August
2007) The crew of the space shuttle Endeavour was awakened for its first full
day in orbit at 7:37 a.m. CDT for a day that will see the spacecraft continue
its pursuit of the International Space Station.
STS-118 MCC Status Report #03
(9 August
2007) The Space Shuttle Endeavour's crew spent much of its first full day in
space making sure the shuttle will be safe to return home.
STS-118 MCC Status Report #04
(10 August
2007) The crew of the space shuttle Endeavour will begin its visit to the
International Space Station this afternoon. Rendezvous operations start at 7:30
a.m.
STS-118 MCC Status Report
#05
(10 August 2007) The crew of Space Shuttle Endeavour joined
forces with the International Space Station crew this afternoon at 3:04 p.m.
CDT when STS-118 Commander Scott Kelly floated into the Destiny Laboratory
followed by the rest of his crew.
STS-118
MCC Status Report #06
(11 August 2007) The day after they entered
the International Space Station, two members of the Space Shuttle Endeavour
crew will go out again, this time for a spacewalk.
STS-118 MCC Status Report #07
(11 August
2007) First-time spacewalkers Rick Mastracchio and Dave Williams added a
two-ton,11-foot-long spacer to the International Space Station's backbone today
during the mission's inaugural spacewalk.
Launch Services
Aerojet Propulsion Launches NASA's Phoenix Mars
Lander Mission
(6 August 2007)Aerojet, a GenCorp company, provided
propulsion for NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander mission which launched on Aug. 4 at
5:26 a.m. from Space Launch Complex 17A, Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.,
aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket.
Ariane 5 is Complete with its Spaceway 3 and
BSAT-3a Payloads
(7 August 2007) The Ariane 5 ECA for Arianespace's
August 14 heavy-lift mission has been "topped off" with its second satellite
passenger, completing the payload integration process at Europe's Spaceport in
French Guiana.
ILS to Launch Inmarsat
Satellite on Proton Vehicle Next Spring
(7 August 2007)
International Launch Services (ILS) and Inmarsat Plc announced a contract today
for launch of the Inmarsat 4-F3 satellite on a Proton Breeze M vehicle in early
2008.
Indigenous Cryogenic Stage Tested
for Eight Minutes
(6 August 2007) The indigenously developed
cryogenic stage, to be used as the upper stage of India's Geosynchronous
Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), was ground tested for a long duration of eight
minutes today (August 4, 2007) at Liquid Propulsion test facility at
Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu.
Japan's BSAT-3a
is Installed on its Ariane 5 Launch Vehicle
(6 August 2007) The
first of two payloads for Arianespace's upcoming heavy-lift mission has been
integrated on the Ariane 5 ECA, marking another milestone in preparations for
the August 14 mission.
Lockheed Martin
Informs ICO of Six Week Launch Slot Postponement
(6 August 2007) ICO
Global Communications (Holdings) Limited (ICO) today announced that Lockheed
Martin Commercial Launch Services (LMCLS) has postponed the upcoming ICO launch
slot approximately six weeks: from November 1, 2007 - November 30, 2007 to
December 15, 2007 - January 15, 2008.
Launches
ISS 13A.1 - Shuttle Endeavour
(STS-118)
Launch Schedule
Products and Services
Mobile Satellite Ventures Unveils
SMART - a Satellite Mutual Aid Radio Talkgroup
(6 August 2007)
Mobile Satellite Ventures (MSV) today announced the launch of SMART - a
Satellite Mutual Aid Radio Talkgroup on MSV's nationwide push-to-talk satellite
network, conceived and administered in conjunction with the US Department of
Justice (DOJ), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Vocality Launches Satellite Network
Simulator
(3 August 2007) The purpose of the Simulator 3 is to
deliver VSAT systems designers and integrators with a test platform to trial a
range of applications and to see the effect that delay, errors and QoS (Quality
of Service) has on the performance of their end user
applications.
Events
APSCC 2007 Satellite Conference & Exhibition:
Exhibitors to Demonstrate State-of-the-Art Products and Services
(6
August 2007) The APSCC 2007 Satellite Conference & Exhibition, which will
be staged in Bangkok, Thailand from September 18 to September 20 is poised to
make an even bigger splash this year and emerge on a grander
platform.
People
Com Dev Announces Return of CEO John
Keating
(7 August 2007) Com Dev International Ltd., a leading
manufacturer of space hardware subsystems, today announced that John Keating
has resumed his duties as Chief Executive Officer of the company.
David
J. Helfgott Elected to DataPath's Board of Directors
(8 August 2007)
DataPath, Inc., a leading provider of satellite and wireless communications
networks around the world, today announced that company President and Chief
Operating Officer, David J. Helfgott, has been elected to its board of
directors.
ESA's German Astronaut Thomas
Reiter to Become Member of DLR Executive Board with Responsibility for
Space
(7 August 2007) The astronaut Thomas Reiter, who has spent
almost a year in total conducting research in space, is to take on a new role
on the Executive Board of the German Space Agency (DLR) with responsibility for
space.
GPS Industries Attracts Joseph
Miller to CFO Role
(8 August 2007) GPS Industries Inc. (GPSI), the
world's leading provider of WiFi-enabled GPS golf management systems and
targeted on-course media, is pleased to announce that Joseph (Joe) Miller has
joined the Company as Chief Financial Officer.
NASA Administrator Announces Senior Leadership
Appointments
(10 August 2007) On Friday, NASA Administrator Michael
Griffin named Richard J. Gilbrech as associate administrator for the
Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, the NASA division designing the next
generation of spacecraft to return astronauts to the moon and eventually
journey to Mars.
